Beach towns where house prices have jumped the most in dollar terms over the past year
House prices have boomed as much as $700,000 in some of the most sought-after coastal locations through the pandemic as city dwellers seek a sea change.
And as lockdowns lift, and potential buyers can travel further to inspection properties, hot competition by the beach is likely this summer.
New analysis shows the neighbourhoods that have recorded the biggest price gains by dollar value, with gains of three-quarters of a million dollars at the upper end.
Palm Beach, at the tip of Sydney’s northern beaches, has lifted by $763,078 over the year to June, to a median of $4,362,500, Domain data shows.
The northern beaches have soared in popularity amid the rise of remote working, allowing a relaxed lifestyle with access to the city for meetings or a day or two a week in the office.
Avalon Beach’s median house price grew almost $545,000 in the year to June, to reach $2,512,500, while Bilgola Plateau rose more than $520,600 to a median of $2.2 million. The median price for a Newport house lifted $484,600 to $2.4 million over the same time period, and agents say interest has continued once Sydney entered its long lockdown.
LJ Hooker Palm Beach principal David Edwards said the northern beaches were undervalued for a long time, but are now the “flavour of the month”.
“Clearly we’re very, very popular and I think that’s part and parcel of the COVID situation where people could reassess their life work relationship,” he said.
“A lot of the Palm Beach, Whale Beach market is a holiday house market … now they look at a holiday house with the perspective of, can this property be a principal place of residence? Can we retire to this?”
He has seen a jump in the number of bidders at auctions – from about four per property previously to seven or eight or nine – with strong demand from the eastern suburbs and the north shore.
He expects the market to remain strong, although some of the froth could come out ahead of next year’s federal election, he said.
Byron Bay prices have jumped more than $655,000 in one year, to reach a median of $1.96 million, and the demand has spilled into surrounding towns.
Ray White Byron Bay’s Brett Connable said the market has been “incredibly strong”.
“A big portion of that is from Sydney. A majority of the interest coming out of Sydney is from the northern beaches and Bondi,” he said.
He said many buyers were looking for a sea change and a more sustainable, self-sufficient life off the grid.
And he expects the interest to stay strong until the Christmas break, after which the market could depend on whether city dwellers are feeling more comfortable with their lives in the city.
Further south, Melburnians have been fleeing to the Mornington Peninsula for more space throughout the city’s extended lockdowns.
House prices have jumped by almost $470,000 in Blairgowrie to a median of $1,392,500, while Portsea gained $451,000 to $2.85 million, over the year to June.
On the far side of the peninsula, Somers gained a whopping $732,000 to a median of $1,706,750.
“It’s an extremely hot market down here, and has been for some time,” Belle Property Blairgowrie’s Mal McInnes said.
“Life’s changed for so many people, now that they have worked out they can work remotely.”
Many Melburnians had been looking for a base with a view to possibly retiring on the peninsula, [hoping to] spend much of their time by the coast but with easy access to the city when required for work, he said.
He is seeing sellers relocate to more affordable areas such as Gippsland and elsewhere in regional Victoria, taking the opportunity to cash in.
In Queensland, house prices in Noosa’s Sunshine Beach are up more than $445,600 over the past year to $2.2 million, and the area has been highly sought.
Williamson & Co principal Rory Williamson said the market was “extremely buoyant”, and expected a spike once Sydney and Melbourne buyers were allowed to visit.
He has been selling sight unseen to southern buyers and international buyers, who have reassessed their lives and made good on their sea-change dreams.
Sunshine Beach has been particularly popular because it is edged by a national park, so cannot be developed out, and has a surfing beach and restaurants, nearby Noosa Heads but without the hustle and bustle.
“Everyone can make a living from the laptop; a lot of professions can, and they’re choosing to live in their perfect environment,” he said.
“If they don’t need to be in the office, why live anywhere else?”
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